Sen. Leahy Obtains
Grant To Repair
Bethel Town Hall
By Mary Anderson

Bethel's Town Hall is a step closer to being restored to community use. (Herald / Tim Calabro)

U. S. Sen. Patrick Leahy announced this week that he has secured $305,000 in the federal budget passed by Congress in December to help protect and restore the historic Bethel Town Hall.

The federal funding will come in the form of a matching Save America’s Treasures grant. The Bethel grant was not in President Bush's budget request to Congress, so Leahy included the project as a senior member of the Appropriations Committee and of its Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

In securing the grant Leahy said, "The Bethel Town Hall embodies the very identity of the close-knit community it resides in. For more than a century the Town Hall has served as the epicenter of community activity—from dances and concerts to the home of the fire department and Bethel’s first library.

"Restoring the Town Hall to its rightful place as a well-preserved and working piece of New England’s history is critical to preserving more than just the building, but also the culture and identity of an American community.

"The Town Hall is a living reference point and anchor for Bethel's past and Bethel's future. Making it once again a vital part of town life is more than a capital investment in a building. It's an investment in Bethel's legacy."

The Bostrom Factor

Leahy further said that the town’s demonstrated commitment, in both private donations and support of direct appropriations from the town, helped him secure the Save America’s Treasures grant. He noted that he was especially impressed with last year’s pledge by Charlene Bostrom during Bethel’s Town Meeting to close the funding gap necessary to repair the Town Hall’s roof.

Bostrom was thrilled by the news. She said that her family has been in Bethel since the 1770's.

"The building was built in 1892, the year before my grandparents were married in Bethel," she said. "They and their family attended many functions in the hall and I attended town meetings with my grandparents there. Our daughter roller skated in the building."

Bostrom added that her son is an architect, and "because this building is architecturally designed it was very important to us to have it restored and made usable by the community.

"The elaborate stage curtain has been restored and hopefully it, too, can hang again in this building," she noted.

The Betourney Factor

Leahy was made aware of the project in 2005 when three of his staffers, Ted Brady, Jessica Berry and Chanda Betourney toured the building. Betourney was from Bethel and worked with Leahy for eight years. She knew he was especially interested in historic preservation, especially when it involved a project that would help to revitalize a town and get people involved.

She knew the Bethel Town Hall fit the criteria and set up the tour as one of the last things she did while working for the senator. Now in her last semester of law school at Georgetown University, Betourney says she is "excited to see it come to fruition. These old town halls are unique to New England and many have been torn down. It’s a fantastic building."

Over the last two years the Town Hall Committee has kept Leahy informed through newsletters and minutes of their monthly meetings. He recognized that the committee had worked hard on turning their vision into a reality and that quite a bit of money had been raised for a town the size of Bethel. Thus he pushed forward to procure the hard-to-get federal funding.

Amy Bergamo, the chairperson of the Bethel Town Hall Financial Committee, said, "We are honored by Senator Leahy's recognition of our beautiful town hall, and we are grateful for his efforts on our behalf.

t"Now is the time for the committee and selectboard to firm up ideas and get going." She pointed out that The Preservation Trust of Vermont has informed her that they might be able to help with funds if it looks like the building could be made ready for people to use.

"It doesn’t matter if the floors will still need sanding or painting needs to be done. If the building could be made safe for people, the trust might come in and help."

Bergamo is working on setting up a time for someone from the Department of Labor to inspect the building and inform the committee what it would take to make the building safe to use.

Her committee is currently holding its "1892" fundraising campaign, asking 1892 individuals to donate a sum with 1892 in it. They hope that the procurement of the Save America’s Treasures grant will inspire people who have not yet contributed to do so, as it will help raise the necessary matching funds. Bostrom concurred.

"Seeing the results of our gift has been rewarding and it shows that a relatively small investment can accomplish great things," she said. "My hope is that the people in Bethel who have not yet contributed to this project will do so now."